{"id":8979,"date":"2021-12-30T12:11:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T10:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/course\/push-ups\/"},"modified":"2023-07-04T16:54:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T14:54:59","slug":"push-ups","status":"publish","type":"tva_lesson","link":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/","title":{"rendered":"Push-Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Live Discussion Timestamps on Push-ups and Staggered Push-Ups<\/h3>\n

00:00 Strength Program – Push-ups and Staggered Push-ups <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

00:11 Your progress so far <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

05:47 Push-ups <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

13:50 Question: Are there any massage techniques we can use <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

17:25 Back to Push-ups <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

18:17 Staggered Push-ups <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

19:21 A note on unstable equipment <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

28:19 What about posture <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

29:40 Progressions <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

32:11 How do these exercises show up in sport?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Performing the exercise<\/h3>\n

Ideally you want your dog to be able to stand squarely without moving their feet (this way they are purposefully engaging the shoulders and hip stabilizers) – standing on the two boards helps to achieve this.<\/p>\n

Assess your dog’s stability and once you are happy, proceed to lower the food to the floor so that your dog’s head may follow in a downward direction.<\/p>\n

Lowering the head, shifts weight forward from the back onto the shoulders and front legs and engages the shoulder stabilizers at the front and back of the shoulder blades along with all the muscles used in the front half of the body for deceleration of speed in sport. The elbows and shoulders will flex while the wrists should stabilize and hold the front legs strong.<\/p>\n

As the head goes down the shoulders will rotate\/glide towards the tail end of the dog and the trapezius and rhomboids are elongated and stretched over the withers.  The stretch should run all the way into the back along the spine through to the loin and pelvis. For this to happen, it is helpful to watch that the front shoulder joint falls in line with the front feet.<\/p>\n

From the floor raise your hand so that the dog completes a full head nod action and returns the head to the neutral position.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This exercise is particularly useful for dogs participating in competitive obedience where the head is raised continually causing flexion in the trapezius muscles of the neck and withers while elongating the muscles running along the front of the neck (brachiocephalicus).  The push-up helps with balancing these muscles through the head nodding down and contracting these stretched neck muscles while stretching the trapezius and rhomboideus over the withers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Parts of the body worked<\/h3>\n

Push Ups are aimed at strengthening muscles that support the shoulder joint, elbows, pasterns, biceps, triceps, the muscles between the shoulder blade and the ribcage.<\/p>\n

Picture illustration of muscles targeted<\/h4>\n

Below is a side view of the outside muscles of the shoulder and top front leg with color coded labels for easy reference.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Taken from The Dog Anatomy Book: A guide to the canine body Illustration by M. Raynor<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Watchpoints:<\/h3>\n

Ensure that your dog’s feet are evenly placed and that there is no bending in the pasterns.<\/p>\n

Bending in the pasterns may be due to some inflexibility through the trapezius, spine, and neck along with incorrect treat placement on the floor.  <\/p>\n

You may help your dog by placing the food a little closer to their front feet OR do not take the food too low (especially if your dog is standing on an elevation with their front feet).<\/p>\n

When starting, treat placement may be close to the front paws to help avoid a “buckling over” of the front pasterns.<\/p>\n

Ensure that you try to achieve a square stand after every push up to ensure full range of motion in the shoulders and neck.<\/p>\n

IMPORTANT:<\/span><\/strong>  watch that your dog is weight-shifting FORWARD as they bring their head down. You can watch for this by noticing that their rear hocks are leaning forward and that their shoulder joints are coming forward towards, inline with or over (depending on their front angulation) their front toes.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice how the pastern buckle when the treat placement is placed further from the front feet.  You can correct this by placing the treat closer to the front feet when starting out.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"<\/span>\"\"\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Notice the importance of your own body position and treat placement plays when it comes to proper form execution for your dog.<\/p>\n

Progressions<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Start on the flat ground to get posture and then increase the number of repetitions – remember not to move too fast through the repetitions and to maintain a good range of motion<\/strong>. This exercise is not about speed, but deliberate neck and shoulder movement.<\/li>\n
  • Increasing the height of the front feet<\/strong> – this will ask for more extension in the spine and trapezius\/withers area. Watch for bending of the pasterns – they must remain strong.<\/li>\n
  • Increasing the height of the back feet<\/strong> – placing more weight shifting onto the shoulders, makes the exercise more difficult<\/li>\n
  • Placing an unstable surface under one end of the dog<\/strong> (front or back) will be more demanding in the stabilizer muscles and core for the dog to hold his posture and balance – this may also be achieved through asking for weight shifting in the exercise with head placement in the stand and while nodding i.e. placing the treat to the left and right of the front feet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Videos of the Exercise<\/h3>\n

    Video1:  Artemis doing push-ups<\/h4>\n

    This video shows good form (once he settles :)) and a nice stretch over the withers as he weight-shifts forward.  Once criticism I give myself is that I could perform the movement a little slower to start, but my speed improves towards the end. Treat placement must be close to the front paws to avoid a “buckling over” of the front pasterns. Ensure that you try to achieve a square stand after every push up to ensure full range of motion in the shoulders and neck.<\/p>\n

    Video 2: Artemis showing push-up variations<\/h4>\n

    We see in this video the variations with rear feet raised, front feet raised and front feet on an unstable surface.<\/p>\n

    Side note:<\/strong>  placement of front feet on an unstable sphere – ensuring that the feet are on the apex or slightly in front of the apex of the sphere requires encourages a straight pastern though holding the ligaments (superficial and deep digital flexor tendons) running under the toes to the top of the elbow to contract and hold the pasterns in place – this position assists with dogs that have too much flexibility in the pasterns. You will notice at the end of the video that he moves a front foot off the Bozu ball (cannot hold position) and then lies on it – he is definitely tired and we stop there.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

    Video 3: Attica – Push-ups <\/strong><\/h4>\n

    The video below shows an incorrect treat placement<\/strong> – the treat is given too high causing an arch in her top spine because her rear feet are raised.  I change the placement of the treat reward to have a more neutral spine when she is standing. Notice that her right front pastern bends slightly because her front feet are not even and the treat placement on the floor is a little too far from that front right foot.  The treat placement is closer to the left front foot and the pastern remains holding strong.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-8979","tva_lesson","type-tva_lesson","status-publish","hentry","tva_courses-bk-9-foundational-strength-program","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Biokinetic K-9<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Push-Ups - The Biokinetic K-9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Join us for a Live Group Call on this Exercise\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Biokinetic K-9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thebiokinetick9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-07-04T14:54:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/\",\"name\":\"Push-Ups - The Biokinetic K-9\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-30T10:11:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-07-04T14:54:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/12\\\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/course\\\/push-ups\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Foundations in Strength Building – mastering your basic moves\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/chapter\\\/your-foundational-activation-exercises\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Push-Ups\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Biokinetic K-9\",\"description\":\"Elite K9 Strength and Conditioning Training - Exceptional products for exceptional friends.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Building Stronger K9 Athletes\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Biokinetic K-9\",\"alternateName\":\"Elite K9 Strength and Conditioning Training\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/BK9Logo-removebg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/10\\\/BK9Logo-removebg.png\",\"width\":748,\"height\":333,\"caption\":\"The Biokinetic K-9\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dogsolutions.co.za\\\/biokinetic-k9\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/thebiokinetick9\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.com\\\/angelagabe\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/thebiokinetick9\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Biokinetic K-9","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Push-Ups - The Biokinetic K-9","og_description":"Join us for a Live Group Call on this Exercise","og_url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/","og_site_name":"The Biokinetic K-9","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thebiokinetick9","article_modified_time":"2023-07-04T14:54:59+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/","url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/","name":"Push-Ups - The Biokinetic K-9","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg","datePublished":"2021-12-30T10:11:46+00:00","dateModified":"2023-07-04T14:54:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Side-view-of-Shoulder-and-front-arm.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/course\/push-ups\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Foundations in Strength Building – mastering your basic moves","item":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/chapter\/your-foundational-activation-exercises\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Push-Ups"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/","name":"The Biokinetic K-9","description":"Elite K9 Strength and Conditioning Training - Exceptional products for exceptional friends.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Building Stronger K9 Athletes","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#organization","name":"The Biokinetic K-9","alternateName":"Elite K9 Strength and Conditioning Training","url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/BK9Logo-removebg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/BK9Logo-removebg.png","width":748,"height":333,"caption":"The Biokinetic K-9"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thebiokinetick9","http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/angelagabe","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thebiokinetick9\/"]}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tva_lesson\/8979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tva_lesson"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/tva_lesson"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogsolutions.co.za\/biokinetic-k9\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}